The first part of the equation was no problem.
Washington & Jefferson quarterback Jacob Pugh embarked on a breakout season a year ago, his first as a full-time starter, and led the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in passing, while his offense was among the most productive and efficient units in all of NCAA Division III football.
Then there was the other part of the equation.
“We were the No. 1 offense in the conference last year,” said Presidents coach Mike Sirianni, now in his 22nd season leading the Washington County program. “We were in the top 15 in the country and that’s all great. That’s good things to put on your resume and all that kind of stuff. The fact of the matter is we played in a bowl game again, which is good, we like to play in the postseason, but our goal is to play in the NCAA playoffs.
“As long as we get in the NCAA playoffs, I don’t care how many yards we have or how many points we score.”
W&J missed out on its 12th NCAA playoff berth under Sirianni in 2023 after suffering losses to eventual PAC champion Grove City and Carnegie Mellon.
Pugh, now a senior, is poised to ensure that will not happen again.
The Thomas Jefferson product threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns to lead W&J to a 58-7 victory against Thiel (0-2) Saturday night at Alumni Stadium in Greenville.
After leading the Presidents (2-0) to a 59-6 victory against Saint Vincent a week earlier, Pugh is again at the head of the PAC class. He has 642 yards and eight touchdowns to his credit already in 2024.
“There’s a lot of us guys that played now for a year and a half, two years, some of us that are seniors this year, and we haven’t gotten the job done in terms of winning the conference and making the playoffs,” said Pugh, who threw for 362 yards and four touchdowns against the Bearcats in Week 1. “That’s been the primary difference, is just the focus on that specifically and knowing this is the last chance. There’s no way it can fail. It’s got to be this year. There’s no next year.”
W&J returns 10 of its 11 starters from 2023, which includes a crop of veteran skill-position players who are among the best in the PAC.
Chief among them are junior wide receivers John Peduzzi and Jacob Macosko, who is a Peters Township graduate.
Peduzzi caught four passes for a team-high 66 yards and a touchdown against Thiel, while Macosko added five catches for 57 yards.
Junior running back Kobe Derosa, a Laurel graduate, also rushed for 51 yards and two touchdowns against the Tomcats.
After both finished in the top five of PAC wide receivers in yardage a season ago, the duo is back among the conference’s top targets in the passing game. Peduzzi has nine catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns in 2024, and Macosko has 15 catches for 215 yards for two scores.
“They’re definitely the two best from watching anybody else,” Pugh said. “I would be shocked if anybody else in the country had a duo that good as well. Just having two of them that are the same build essentially, but can do so many different things, I think they’re the two best in the conference. We are lucky to have them on the same team.”
There’s no doubt, though, who makes the W&J offense go.
Sirianni said Pugh’s knowledge of the Presidents’ offense and maturity within his system could pay huge dividends this season.
“He knows the offense very, very well, to be honest with you, about as well as I do,” Sirianni said. “He’s able to make checks at the line of scrimmage, change things. He’s able to make the right reads almost every single time and he has terrific leadership skills. The guys follow him.”
And Pugh is hoping they will follow him quite a long way in his final season.
“After seeing how things played out last year, I think we have a confidence that we can play with anybody in the country,” said Pugh, who won three WPIAL championships and two PIAA titles during his time at TJ. “Just seeing the talent we have offensively and defensively, in house, we know we can do it. Now it’s just we’ve got to go out there and prove it every day and every week. It’s just start small, but we have big goals in the NCAA.”
No. 20 Carnegie Mellon explodes for 27 fourth-quarter points to blow out Geneva
No. 20 Carnegie Mellon’s stout defense conceded just 139 yards of total offense and the Tartans came on late with a 27-point fourth quarter to avoid an upset bid and emerge with a comfortable 41-7 victory Saturday afternoon against Geneva at Gesling Stadium in Oakland.
Carnegie Mellon (2-0) allowed just seven first downs in the game, along with just 71 yards through the air and 68 on the ground against Geneva (0-2).
Linebacker Robert Coury had 11 tackles, two for a loss, with a sack for the Tartans. His twin brother, Thomas, also a linebacker collected nine tackles, one for a loss.
Moon product Logan Young, a junior outside linebacker, also had nine tackles for Carnegie Mellon with a fumble recovery and interception.
Tartans quarterback Ben Mills threw for 220 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while running back Tre Vasiliadis rushed for 75 yards on 19 carries and Joey McGinnis IV added three carries for 7 yards and three scores on the ground.
Wide receiver Dominic Voiland caught six passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns for Carnegie Mellon, and Peters Township product Brendan McCullough had six catches for 78 yards and a score.
Moon graduate Ty McGowan leads Westminster to season-opening win
Junior quarterback Ty McGowan, a Moon product, completed 17-of-19 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score, as Westminster knocked off Waynesburg, 23-10, Saturday afternoon at Harold Burry Stadium in New Wilmington for a win in its season opener.
Junior wide receiver Taite Beachy, also a Moon graduate, had a game-high six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown for the Titans (1-0).
Running back Zayne Cawley rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries for the Yellow Jackets (0-2).
No. 10 Slippery Rock methodical on offense, remains undefeated
No. 10 Slippery Rock racked up 182 yards on the ground and won the time of possession battle by more than 40 minutes Saturday afternoon to upend perennial Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division power Shepherd, 20-10, at Ram Stadium in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Senior running back Idris Lawrence carried the ball 15 times for a game-high 82 yards and a touchdown for the Rock (2-0), while Chris D’Or had 24 carries for 79 yards against the Rams (1-1).
Slippery Rock quarterback Brayden Long threw for 157 yards and a 6-yard touchdown to wide receiver Xander McClure.
As good as the Rock rushing attack was Saturday, its defense was equally as strong against the Shepherd run.
Slippery Rock conceded just 26 yards on the ground.
Defensive lineman Todd Hill — a Steel Valley product who previously played at Duquesne and Pitt — had four tackles and a sack to lead the Rock defense.
Cal quarterback Davis Black leads Vulcans to first win of season
Senior quarterback Davis Black threw for 248 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 73 yards and three more scores, to lead California University of Pennsylvania to a 38-28 bounce-back victory on the road Saturday afternoon against West Chester at John A. Farrell Stadium.
Junior wide receiver Eric Willis III caught three passes for 109 yards and a touchdown to pace California (1-1), which dropped its season opener at No. 23 Charleston, W.Va., 23-19, a week ago.
McKeesport graduate Bobby Boyd Jr. rushed for a game-high 95 yards on 16 carries for the Vulcans against West Chester (0-2).
Senior defensive back Dominic Solomon Jr., a Clairton graduate, had eight tackles, a sack and broke up four passes for California.
Vulcans sophomore defensive back Khalil Taylor, a Westinghouse product, also had a sack, as did linebacker Armani Caraballo.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania improves to 2-0 with second straight road win
Quarterback Karst Hunter threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes and kicker Nick Andrasi added two fourth-quarter field goals, as Indiana University of Pennsylvania held on to defeat Lock Haven, 20-17, at Hubert Jack Stadium Saturday night for its second consecutive road win of the season.
Hunter completed 8-of-14 passes for 105 yards to lead the Crimson Hawks (2-0), who also rushed for 158 yards as a team, to the win against the host Bald Eagles (1-1).
IUP wide receiver Maurice Massey caught a 14-yard touchdown pass, while Aliquippa product Cyair Clark brought in a 5-yard scoring strike.
Redshirt senior Daniel Deabner, a Thomas Jefferson graduate, caught a team-high five passes for 57 yards for the Crimson Hawks.
The IUP defense conceded only 51 rushing yards, but Lock Haven quarterback Jackson Ostrowsky kept his team in the game by throwing for 284 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver T-iar Young had five catches for 169 yards and two scores.
Duquesne gets revenge with upset of No. 20 Youngstown State
Running back JaMario Clements rushed for 204 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries as Duquesne earned revenge against No. 20 Youngstown State with a 28-25 victory Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown.
The Dukes (1-2) were knocked out of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs by the Penguins (1-2) last season with a disappointing 40-7 loss at Stambaugh Stadium. Duquesne earned its second outright Northeast Conference championship in 2023 and first FCS playoff bid since 2018.
Saturday’s victory was the Dukes second all-time against a ranked FCS opponent. Duquesne defeated then No. 16 Towson, 31-10, in the first round of the 2018 NCAA playoffs.
Quarterback Darius Perrantes completed 17-of-26 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Teddy Afful to lead the Dukes’ offense against the Penguins.
Sophomore linebacker Luke Miller, a Pine-Richland graduate, racked up 14 tackles to lead the Duquesne defense, while linebacker Gianni Rizzo, a Norwin product, had six tackles and a sack.
Junior linebacker Nico Pate, a Peters Township graduate, also tallied a sack for the Dukes.
Bethel Park product Anthony Chiccitt leads Robert Morris to bounce-back win
Fresh off a loss to NCAA Division II Edinboro a week ago, Bethel Park product Anthony Chiccitt led Division I FCS Robert Morris to a bounce-back, 55-28 victory Saturday afternoon against visiting Mercyhurst at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon.
Chiccitt was efficient and productive, completing 19-of-25 passes for 307 yards, five touchdowns and one interception to lead the Colonials (1-2, 1-0) past the Lakers (1-2, 0-1) in both teams Northeast Conference opener.
Wide receiver Noah Robinson had four catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Robert Morris passing attack, while Trenell Ridgley, Ethan Shine, Trevor Wilson and Chaz Middleton all caught scoring strikes.
Tyvon Edmonds Jr. carried the ball 19 times for 133 yards and a touchdown for the Colonials.
Senior linebacker Jamar Shegog, a Seton LaSalle graduate, led Robert Morris’ defense with 11 tackles with a sack.
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.